Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show the fundraiser will take place at Boulder Cycle Sport, 4580 Broadway.

Racers participating in the Cyclocross National Championships descended Wednesday on the Valmont Bike Park. Just months before at the very same park, they held a service to remember one of their own, Boulder pro cyclocross racer Amy Dombroski, who was struck and killed during a training ride in Europe in October

Now, the Amy D Foundation, founded by Dombroski's family, will hold a fundraiser Thursday night to raise money for a summer program in Boulder for young girls in her honor.

The foundation is partnering with Little Bellas -- which hosts programs across the country to introduce young girls into cycling -- to create the program.

Little Bellas was founded by Sabra and Lea Davison, also pro cyclists and friends of Dombroski's from their time living in Vermont. When Sabra Davison first started the program, she wanted to get professional riders to talk to the girls in her programs, and her friend Dombroski was the most eager to meet with girls at camps across the country.

"Amy was the only one I didn't have to coerce, she was always ready to go right then and there," Davison said. "She would come in for Q and As, and the kids were are generally 8 to 12 years old so the questions ranged to what's your favorite ice cream racing to what was it like racing in Belgium."

Davison said no matter the question, Dombroski would answer each one honestly, and she said because of that she was always a favorite of the girls in the program.

"Once she got asked about a crash, and she was so frank with them the whole pack of 40 girls erupted laughing, which doesn't normally happen with crash stories," Davison said. "She definitely had a way with them. They absolutely loved her, she had a great sense of humor, her voice would never go up an octave when she talked to kids, she wouldn't temper her response.

"She treated every single one like they were going to get on the start line with her, and its amazing how they responded to that."

After Dombroski's death at age 26 while training near the town of Sint-Katelijne-Waver in Belgium, Davison talked to her family at the funeral service in Vermont, where they told her they wanted to do something to remember her by working with a program she was so involved with. Thus, Little Bellas created the Boulder summer program that will kick off this year.

"We want to get a lot of girls on bikes because of Amy," Davison said. "It's something she expressed she wanted to happen. In starting a program in Boulder, we're continuing what she started."

They will start off this year with 30 to 40 girls riding on eight Sundays together in Boulder.

"We just want to get them on bikes having fun," Davison said. "Our goal down the road is for this to be a pipeline for female cyclists. We're starting small but we plan to grow."

In a statement, Dombroski's brother Dan said, "Partnering with Little Bellas is a natural first step, given the complementary missions of the two organizations and our mutual Vermont roots. Not only does this partnership allow us to make a strong impact from the get-go, but it is also therapeutic for all of us, given the challenging circumstances."

From 6 to 8:30 p.m. tonight at the Meet the Pros Night at Boulder Cycle Sport, 4580 Broadway, there will be a booth for a silent auction to benefit the Amy D Foundation and the summer program sponsored by SRAM and Boulder Cycle Sport.

"The foundation really wanted to do something at cyclocross nationals to honor her," Davison said. "I know a lot of people are struggling with her death, and I think creating positive change from it is something really powerful."

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